Next General Election could be imminent

SINGAPORE — The formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is seen as one of the strongest indications that a General Election (GE) is approaching, while the release of its report is regarded as the penultimate step before Parliament is dissolved and the writ of election issued by the President.

In the last two polls in 2006 and 2011, the committee took about four months each time to issue a report. There is no fixed date for the election to be called after the report is released. In past elections, Polling Day was held between 17 days and six months after the issuance of the report. In 2011, the time lag was two months and nine days — the longest window period between the two dates since the 1988 GE.

The next GE is due by January 2017. Parliament has a term of five years, but it may be dissolved at any time before the expiry of its term by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Once Parliament is dissolved, the GE must be held within three months.

After the writ of election has been issued, Nomination Day must be held no earlier than five days and no later than one month after. For previous GEs, this has typically been a week. After Nomination Day, a minimum of nine days is set aside for campaigning, until the eve of Polling Day which is also known as Cooling Off day when election campaigning is prohibited.